


...in danger

by BriMac0518



Series: The Arcana - 50 Kisses [24]
Category: The Arcana (Visual Novel)
Genre: F/M, Gender-Neutral Apprentice (The Arcana), Life or Death Situation, M/M, Other, Reader-Insert
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-25
Updated: 2019-11-25
Packaged: 2021-02-25 22:01:32
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,064
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21552715
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BriMac0518/pseuds/BriMac0518
Summary: In the Devil's realm, all manner of horrors await.
Relationships: Apprentice/Muriel (The Arcana), Muriel (The Arcana)/Reader, Muriel (The Arcana)/You
Series: The Arcana - 50 Kisses [24]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1531607
Comments: 8
Kudos: 108





	...in danger

**Author's Note:**

> Very sorry I didn't post yesterday. I had a really bad migraine and ended up sleeping most of the day. Hope you guys enjoy today's installment. I felt there wasn't enough badass Muriel in the world and decided to change that.
> 
> PLEASE NOTE: Do not repost my work anywhere. I do not give my permission.

You were running and yet it felt like you couldn't run fast enough. The Devil's realm was not exactly a prime vacation spot. The ground behind you was crumbling, revealing an ever widening pit of boiling blood. The smell of copper was thick in the air and you almost gagged from it. You gulped in great heaving breaths of it because you had no choice, your breathing hard from how fast you were running.

Beside you, Muriel was in much the same state. You couldn't stop though. If you stopped, you died. The Devil wasn't going to make it easy on you by any means and you knew that he wouldn't. You just had to keep going. Just a little further. It was like a mantra in your head. Just a little further. Just a little further. Your muscles as well as your lungs were screaming at you though and you knew you weren't going to last much longer.

You saw a stretch of land up ahead that was thick with trees and heard the crumbling ground behind you fading in the background. You risked a glance back over your shoulder and your eyes widened to see that the ground was solid, unbroken, and that you might actually catch a break. Once the two of you made it past the edge of the forest and were deep into the trees, you finally risked stopping, leaning heavily against a tree. You panted hard, your hands braced on your knees, slumped over slightly. Sweat dripped down your skin and your legs felt like they were going to give out on you entirely if you didn't get off of them soon.

"Are you all right?" Muriel asked, sounding just as breathless as you were, leaning against the tree beside you, but looking back the way that you came just in case any further trouble was coming.

"Yeah," you muttered, pushing your damp hair back from your face. Your clothing was sticking to you with sweat. "Willing to bet we don't have long before his next nasty surprise though."

Of course you had to jinx it. Of fucking course.

You heard them before you saw them, a clicking, skittering noise that made the hair on the back of your neck stand up. Giant red beetles. The sight of them when they finally came into view made you freeze where you stood against the tree. You felt Muriel tense beside you and knew that he had seen them too.

"Oh shit," you said, watching them appear from the shadows of the trees.

"Go," you heard Muriel say, your head turning quickly so you could look at him with wide eyes.

"What…?" Your hands were shaking as you stared at him and he nodded toward the edge of the tree line.

"Go," he repeated. "I'll hold them off." He looked determined. He'd made up his mind that he was going to sacrifice himself to save you and the realization made your hands start to shake.

"You can't be serious." The statement was flat with a hint of incredulity in your voice.

"Completely serious. You need to defeat the Devil. You can't do that if you're…dead." The final word was shaky.

The beetles were coming closer and you were shaking your head, clearly denying the reality of exactly what Muriel was asking you to do. You couldn’t fathom leaving him behind. But then your back was pressed firmly to the tree behind you and Muriel's lips were pressed firmly to your own.

The kiss was brief, yet Muriel put everything he had into it. Your shaking hands came up to frame his face as you returned it. You hadn't realized you closed your eyes until you opened them and felt a tear slipping down your cheek. Then he smiled for you and you felt your breath catch in your throat.

"I love you," he whispered, his big hand coming up to caress your cheek. He turned from you, blocking the beetles from getting to you with himself as a human shield, using the staff he carried to lash out at the closest ones. You began to see the arena gladiator that he'd once been as he fought off the creatures.

He was ruthless in his attacks, his staff smashing into the beetles that approached him menacingly, pincers clicking together. He even crushed a few underfoot. Yet for all that he managed to kill, more and more came. He would be overwhelmed if you didn't step in to help.

You knew Muriel wanted you to go, to let him sacrifice himself, but you couldn't do it. You just couldn't. So you called up your magic and faced off with him against the coming horde, using various spells to destroy the bugs. You could tell he was upset that you hadn't listened to him and run, but that was a problem to face later once you were done fighting for your lives.

At last, the final beetle fell, its head crushed under Muriel's booted heel. Again, you both were left panting, and your energy was spent from all the spells you'd cast, but Muriel turned to you. It was time to face the music. Normally quiet, Muriel's face was red with both exertion as well as anger.

"Why didn't you run?" The demand cut through the silence of the woods around you and you stood your ground against your giant.

"Because I love you too," you said, squaring up to defend yourself and your actions further, but found you didn't need to when his shoulders slumped. He should have known that you were just as stubborn as he could be, if not more so when it came to things that you felt were important. Not leaving him behind to die in order to save you was certainly something you considered extremely important.

So, you walked up and kissed him, sliding your arms around him in the process. You knew the both of you just needed a few moments to breathe as well as to assure each other that you were unharmed. Exhausted, but unharmed. His strong arms wrapped tightly around you so he could hold you close as he kissed you back, his relief that you were all right plainly evident.

It was the calm before the storm, but at least you had each other still. The Devil didn't stand a chance.

**Author's Note:**

> Want to get updates on my writing? Come say hi on my social media. I’d love to hear from you! :)
> 
> [Twitter](http://www.twitter.com/BriMac0518)   
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> 


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